Woodpeckers Care Home pull strings to make wish come true for ex-harpist Georgina, 89  

The team at Woodpeckers made a resident’s heartfelt wish come true with a surprise opportunity to play the harp again for the first time in more than 60 years.

Georgina Chesters, a former member of the National Youth Orchestra, said she was ‘absolutely astounded’ when a professional harpist arrived at Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst as a special birthday treat.

Liane Hopkins not only performed herself but brought along two traditional lever harps, one big, one smaller, so Georgina could play too.

Residents and staff, accompanied by Georgina’s visiting daughter Emma and granddaughter Eleanor, watched as Liane spoke with the delighted 89-year-old and invited her to pick one to try out.

All eyes were on Georgina as, gently and with a huge smile on her face, she settled into position, held one of the harps and began to let her fingers pluck and run across strings for the first time since her teenage years.

It was the first time that Emma, a piano teacher, had actually seen her mother play the harp even though she knew it was a big part of Georgina’s youth.

Georgina said: “I was absolutely astounded by this surprise. It was amazing, I loved every minute of it.”

Sian Harris, Companionship Team member, said: “Georgina has often spoken of her time as a harpist, playing as part of the NYO.

“She has shared many stories including how she once left her harp on a railway platform, and how she was too scared to tell her father, but, luckily, it was returned in one piece.

“Over time, she unfortunately stopped playing and has told us she ended up selling her harp to pay for a car.

“In all the time Georgina has spoken about playing the harp she has always said that she could never do it again, as it’s so hard on your hands, but in January, as part of a reminiscing activity she actually said her wish was to play again, even just one last time. That was it, I hit the ground running to make this wish come true.”

While the rest of the home was sworn to secrecy, Sian searched through social media for a harpist to come and visit, adding: “I thought it would be like finding a needle in a haystack so I was surprised when more than 30 people from all over Hampshire and as far afield as Somerset offered their services to come and play. From that list I picked Liane. Our staff and some of the residents knew about this special surprise for Georgina and everyone kept it a secret.”

Born in Cardiff and now based in Romsey, Liane has a repertoire ranging across all styles of music.

She played to her Woodpeckers audience in the intimate, relaxing setting of the home’s lounge for more than an hour, performing pieces such as Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I Vow to Thee My Country and the Irish classic Danny Boy.

“You could see by the smile on Georgina’s face how much she was enjoying and appreciating it, said Sian. “But then, she was absolutely thrilled and overwhelmed when Liane invited her to play too.

“She had tears in her eyes when we told her we had been planning that all along. Georgina tried both harps.

“After half a century of not touching one, it was a very moving moment when she started playing. It sounded lovely, amazing.”